Tanker War

The Tanker War was a naval conflict between Iraq and Iran which occurred from 1984 to June 1989 as part of the greater Iran-Iraq War. From 1987 to 1989, the US Navy intervened in the conflict on the side of Iraq, attacking Iranian oil platforms after a US-flagged Kuwaiti tanker, MV Sea Isle City, was attacked by the Iranian Navy and later destroying several Iranian ships in retaliation for the Iranian mining of USS Samuel B. Roberts. The war resulted in the damaging of 586 commercial vessels and the killing of 430 civilian sailors.

History
From 1981 to 1983, early in the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq launched intermittent anti-shipping strikes against Iran, using Soviet and French-supplied MiG-23s, Mirage F-1s, and Super Frelon helicopters and French Exocet missiles to target Iranian ships in the northern Persian Gulf. In May 1982, the Turkish tanker Atlas 1, which loaded Iranian oil at Kharg Island, became the first tanker to be hit in the war. In 1984, as France escalated its delivery of Exocet missiles to Iraq, the Iraqi Air Force escalated its attacks on Iranian oil export facilities, and, in February 1985, the Liberian tanker Neptunia was struck and sunk by an Iraqi Exocet missile, the first tanker to sink as the result of a missile strike. The shipping strikes were meant to apply economic pressure on Iran and to trigger an Iranian response which would lead to international intervention on the Iraqi side to protect maritime freedom. In 1984, Iran began to attack Iraqi, Gulf state, and other international-flagged shipping, punishing Iraq and its allies while attempting to force Iraq to halt its anti-shipping campaign. However, the inferior quality of the Iranian missiles and the superior defenses of the large Iraqi tankers prevented the Iranians from achieving any serious successes until 1987, when they began to use Chinese CSSC-2 Silkworm missiles. Iraq's Gulf neighbors began to suffer from Iranian attacks on their shipping, and Kuwait called on the international community to reflag Kuwaiti vessels to deter Iranian strikes. The threat of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to international naval traffic led to the US Navy intervening in the region.

Earnest Will and Prime Chance
In May 1987, in the USS Stark incident, an Iraqi Exocet missile struck the USS Stark and killed 37 sailors and wounding 21, the Iraqis having mistaken the US ship for an Iranian one. However, the incident instead motivated President Ronald Reagan to escalate the US intervention against Iran to protect international shipping against Iranian strikes. The United States initiated Operation Earnest Will with the goal of protecting Kuwaiti tankers, and, on 24 July 1987, the US tanker MV Bridgeton struck an Iranian underwater mine planted 20 miles west of Farsi Island. US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger responded by deploying 8 minesweeping helicopters, 5 oceangoing minesweepers, and 6 small coastal minesweepers to the region, provoking conflict with Iran. Soon, 30 US warships were active in the region. On 21 September 1987, US Nightstalker planes discovered the Iranian ship Iran Ajr laying mines, so US helicopters fired guns and rockets at the ship until the crew abandoned ship; 5 Iranians were killed and 26 captured in the raid. A team of US Navy SEALs discovered 9 mines on the vessel's deck. The Americans soon discovered that the Iranians had their mining vessels hide near oil and gas platforms in Iranian waters during the day before heading into the Gulf at night, so three Little Bird aircraft and two patrol craft sank three Iranian boats which fired on them near the Middle Shoals Buoy, where the Iranians often attacked foreign shipping.

Nimble Archer
On 15 October 1987, the US tanker MV Sea Isle City was struck by an Iranian Silkworm missile at the oil terminal outside Kuwait City, and seventeen crewmen and the American captain were injured in the attack. On 18 October, the Americans responded with Operation Nimble Archer, in which four US Navy destroyers shelled two IRGC-run oil platforms in the Rostam oil field. USS Thach then deployed a team of SEALs who demolished one of the oil platforms, and they also captured intelligence documents. When asked by reporters if the US actions constituted a declaration of war on Iran, President Ronald Reagan said that there would be no war, as he said that Iran would not be so stupid.

Praying Mantis
On 14 April 1988, 65 miles east of Bahrain, the US frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts was heavily damaged by an Iranian mine, and 10 sailors were injured. On 18 April, the US fiercely retaliated with Operation Praying Mantis, attacking the Iranian frigates Sabalan and Sahand and IRGC bases in the Sirri and Sassan oil fields. The US shelling totally destroyed the Sirri oil platform, and the operation left 1 US helicopter destroyed and 2 US soldiers killed, while Iran lost 1 frigate destroyed and 45 of its crew killed, 1 gunboat sunk and 11 of its crew killed, 3 speedboats sunk, 1 frigate crippled, 2 platforms destroyed, and 1 fighter damaged. The operation established US naval superiority and led to a drastic decrease in the number of neutral ships attacked by Iran. On 3 July 1988, USS Vincennes shot down the passenger plane Iran Air Flight 655 after mistaking it for an Iranian F-14, killing all 290 passengers and aircrew aboard the plane (including 66 children). On 18 July 1988, pressured by Praying Mantis and the airliner's downing, Iran agreed to a ceasefire and a permanent end to its hostilities with Iraq on 20 August 1988, ending its eight-year war with Iraq. After 26 September 1988, the remaining Navy SEALs, patrol boats, and helicopters returned to the US.